6 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY AUGUST 7-13, 2025 www.montereycountynow.com 831 At first, it sounds like there might be a problem with Tom Scardina’s timeline in his memory. The 82-year-old who grew up in Pacific Grove remembers he first developed an affection for Roadsters by driving them around Pebble Beach starting at age 14—too young to have a driver’s license. But it’s not a timeline memory lapse. “Everyone drove before they were 16 then,” Scardina explains. “They never checked you for a driver’s license. There was only one Pebble Beach security cop and he wasn’t going to stop you, he had better things to do.” Those early, under-age days behind the wheel were the beginning of a lifelong passion for Scardina, who today owns three 1929 Ford Roadsters, plus three other classic cars—a 1940 Hudson, a 1962 Ford Falcon and a ’37 Ford Coupe. He drives them only rarely, and works on them in the big garage at his Pebble Beach home. “I’ve always had a passion for cars, always,” he says. “I built a couple of cars from scratch. But I don’t sell them, I keep them. It’s a hobby.” His Roadsters were mass produced by 1929, and don’t qualify for swanky Car Week events like Concours d’Elegance even if they share a classic look. But this passion is not about showing cars—it’s a hobby, and a social group. Scardina and some of his fellow collectors have connected over their mutual love of cars and shared tips about rebuilding and improvements. Carlin Erickson of Seaside worked for 40 years at Butts Chevrolet Cadillac (now the site of the Hyundai dealership), where he had access to tools for personal use, and a career’s worth of expertise. He found a 1955 Chevrolet Model 150—just a body with no transmission, no engine—that had been sitting in a barn for years. He spent some six years getting it running. “It’s incredible to create it with your own hands,” he says. Erickson’s expertise is in body work, and it shows. He made his own custom paint color, a radiant, eye-catching shade of turquoise. “The owner of the shop and I got together one night over a few beers and we came up with that color,” he says. Erickson painted all six of Scardina’s cars. Erickson is a few years younger than Scardina, and was friends with Scardina’s younger brother growing up. The older kids provided a gateway to car culture and independence. “As a little kid I’d go up to their houses and see these cool-looking hot rods they had and that got me started,” Erickson says. As soon as he was old enough he got his first car—a 1950 Chevrolet with no brakes and a wrecked front end—and a lifetime passion began. “I’ve been working on cars ever since,” he says. And in their younger years, he remembers driving around and parking along scenic spots in P.G. to look for girls. “We would cruise nightly,” Erickson says. Scardina recalls a rented garage with a dirt floor for $3 a month that he and his buddies would use to build cars. They’d get parts at wrecking yards. (Scardina says yards would weigh the teens when they went in and then when they went out, to avoid anyone pocketing metal.) These cars connect collectors to each other, and to another era. “Today everybody wants a Tesla or something like that,” Scardina says. (His around-town car is a 2025 Ford pick-up. It’s a necessity not just for transportation, but securing lower insurance rates for collector cars, requiring proof you won’t be driving around in them.) While the group doesn’t really show their cars, they enjoy parking near Car Week events where passersby admire them. Erickson sometimes joins in the Gold Coast Rods show on Broadway in Seaside. They also do some DIY events; for the past few years, they’ve celebrated fellow car enthusiast Ken Hinshaw’s birthday with a friends’ car show, bringing their beloved vehicles to Hinshaw’s spacious backyard in Pacific Grove, parking among the fruit trees. It’s not a cruising scene, but it’s a peaceful gathering of friends with their cars who get to compare notes. There’s Erickson next to his vivid Chevy, and Scardina’s deep black Roadster which, of course, Erickson painted. “We’ve been doing this for 60-some years,” Scardina says, “and we’re no better than we were 60-some years ago.” Cruise Control The hot rod era endures for lifelong car enthusiasts, with or without the elevation of Car Week. By Sara Rubin “I’ve always had a passion for cars, always.” TALES FROM THE AREA CODE DANIEL DREIFUSS “I don’t go on big vacations or anything—this is just my life,” Tom Scardina says of his classic car collection. He’s built all six vehicles himself. SAVE THE DATE Friday, September 12 • Monterey Marriott Annual Leadership Luncheon Thursday, October 16 • TBD Monterey Bay Business Expo UPCOMING EVENTS See the full schedule of events and register today at montereychamber.com REGISTER TODAY!
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